100 Days to Fall in Love
by rocketandroll17
Summary: Nakiri Alice's bet was simple - make Tsukasa Eishi fall in love with me in 100 days. I just didn't expect that my tricks and pseudo-"love spell" would backfire and make me fall in love with someone else.
1. Day 0

_Hi everyone! Welcome to my first Shokugeki story. This crazy idea came to me one night, and I just couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to write it down._

 _Let me know what you guys think! :)_

* * *

 _Prologue_

"Ahhh, love." Alice sighed, clasping her hands together. She seemed to be in a dreamy state in the middle of class.

Ryo and Alice had known each other since they were children. By now, he had memorized the meaning of every single sigh and gesture that she made. He wasn't really into starting up a conversation about it. But as her assistant, he knew he'd be in trouble if he didn't react. "What about it, Miss Alice?" he asked out of consideration. Though, he already knew that behind this spunky, white haired, second year was a dastardly plan.

That's the way Nakiri Alice was and always has been. She thinks of the most bizarre ideas and she doesn't take any prisoners. _Unpredictable yet predictable,_ he thought. But before she could answer him, he already noticed whom she was referring to.

Hideyuki Kaori, a fellow second year was assigned to the counter next to theirs. She had pretty much blended in the background for their entire first year. If it wasn't for the friendliness of Tadokoro Megumi, their circle of friends wouldn't really know her. As compared to his friends, Hideyuki was pretty much an ordinary-looking girl. Long, brown hair, chocolate colored eyes that were sometimes hidden behind gold, round framed lenses. Despite that, she wasn't totally invisible. Ryo must have passed by her in the hallways a few times. He remembered her as the "girl with the side braid".

"A girl," Alice started, placing one hand over her chest. "Who is hot for teacher." she added, wickedly slamming her hand on their counter.

The class went silent, and the teacher stopped talking.

"Nakiri Alice," Tsukasa Eishi called nervously from the front of the room. " _Eto_ …is there something wrong?" he started becoming nervous.

She noticed that she was probably becoming too passionate again about her observations. "N-nothing, Tsukasa-Kyoju!" she said embarrassingly. "Carry on!"

The year after he graduated, Tsukasa Eishi was prompted by the Elite Ten to teach in the school. It took a few weeks of begging and likewise, bribing for him to say yes. It was perfect, afterall. He was competing for BLUE, and a the same time, his restaurant in the Uptown Area had been constantly raved and reviewed by the best in the industry. He was on to targeting a 2 star rating from the WGO and everyone was waiting in anticipation until he would get the 3 stars. He has a lot of projects coming his way, and he was gaining constant support from Totsuki. In return, Nakiri Erina and first seat, Yukihira Soma decided it would be great to keep him around.

The class continued with the task of the day: complete the recipe of the French dish, Coq Au Vin (Red Wine Braised Chicken) within an hour. It was a simple recipe, but what Tsukasa encouraged his students to do today is to experiment with their different styles of cooking the dish. After his infamous defeat in the Regiment du Cuisine, Tsukasa Eishi, who is usually a follower of systems and processes, started to understand and appreciate unique cooking styles. Although he can't say that it applies to him, it didn't stop him from encouraging others to do it.

Various aromas filled the room. The class was engrossed in the activity as Tsukasa moved around to observe.

"Megumi-san, what do you think?" Hideyuki asked her partner, as she finished sauteeing the ingredients.

The blue haired girl nodded her head in agreement. "It looks good. _Demo_ …shouldn't we adding thyme now?"

"Hold it first," Hideyuki replied, as she started to work on a bowl of spices.

As the class stirred, sauteed and some even fried, Tsukasa stopped to notice that Tadokoro's group still hasn't really gone into half of the recipe. To him, it seemed that they were falling behind. "That's interesting, Hideyuki-san," he started as he watched her grind and fuse together a variety of spices. He then looked over to her partner who was watching the pan. "But I'm afraid you two are falling behind as compared to your other classmates."

By this time, Ryo and Alice have already finished. They were already at the plating. As Tadokoro and Hideyuki looked around, almost everyone was getting ready to do the same thing. Hideyuki smirked and grabbed the spices. Without even looking at the stove, she sprinkled it all over their dish before saying. "Almost done, Tsukasa-Kyoju."

The smell of the spices she had just placed in the pan filled the room. With that, Eishi went back to his station to start grading. As the grades were handed out, less and less people remained in the room until Megumi and Kaori were the last pair.

Megumi held the dish as they both walked up to Eishi. He gazed at the wall clock, then back at them. "Right on time," he commented before grabbing a fork and trying out their dish.

The two girls smiled at each other and waited in anticipation for their grade.

"Pass," he simply said, and the two giggled and gave each other high fives.

Hideyuki took the plate and set it aside. "Arigatou, Tsukasa-Kyoju." Said Megumi, as she bowed in respect.

"There's something different about it…" he replied, as he stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Cardamom?"

"Hai," Megumi answered. "Kaori-san thought it would just tie the dish together."

"Because of the strength of the wine and spices like black pepper and thyme, I just thought that it would be too bold to leave it like that." Kaori began stating as-a-matter-of-factly. "Cardamom tones it down instead of using sweet wine." She continued.

Eishi crossed his arms over his chest. "But you're not supposed to use sweet wine, anyway. It should be dry."

Megumi started grabbing their stuff from their workstation. Kaori shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. "We can all use a little sweetness in our life, _ne_ , Kyoju?" she said with a wink.

Tsukasa chuckled. " _Ja_ , see you two in the next class."

As Eishi left the room, Kaori took her bag from Megumi and gestured a 'thank you' for thinking about her. The door slammed shut, but not long after, it opened for Nakiri Alice and Ryo to appear.

"My, my, my, Kaori-chan." Alice teased, placing a finger on her lip. She then looked at her assistant and said, "Didn't I tell you, Ryo-kun? Somebody's hot for teacher!"

" _Eto_ …it isn't really a secret Alice-san." Megumi pointed out.

Kaori shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm not trying to hide it. In fact…" she clasped her hands together and her eyes went into a dreamy like state. "It would be the best thing ever if he notices me."

"But he does!" Megumi assured.

"As a chef, yes, but not like _that_ ," she pointed out.

Alice propped herself up on one of the counters. "Poor Tsukasa-senpai has been heartbroken ever since Rindou-senpai left the country last week. Isn't this the perfect opportunity to just pounce on him?"

Ryo cocked an eyebrow at his mistress' words. She was acting extra hyperactive today. But then again, when he thought about it, she has been commenting about this exact situation for weeks now. Perhaps she was just waiting for the proper build-up.

"P-p-pounce?!" Megumi questioned in shock.

Alice nodded her head. "Hai, Tadokoro-san. Because Rindou-senpai is out of the picture, Hideyuki-san here can finally take her demure flirtation to the next level!"

"Demure flirtation?!" Kaori demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's a little obvious to everyone that you're into him. But not enough for him to notice." Ryo reacted stoically.

"This is exactly why it's the perfect time to take it up a notch!" Alice declared.

Kaori pushed up her glasses. "Even if I were to 'take it up a notch' as what you say…I want Eishi to _fall in love_ with me, Nakiri-san. I don't want to be a rebound."

Alice went to the board and began writing numbers. "It is scientifically proven that in the 4-8 weeks of flirtation - men just stay there for casual purposes. Anything beyond that is proven to result to love. It's a 99.9% success rate!" she beamed.

Ryo, Megumi and Kaori just looked at each other awkwardly. Kaori then broke the ice and chuckled. "I don't think that really proves anything."

Alice clenched her fists in frustration. "I just said it's a 99.9% success rate, weren't you listening?!"

"I still don't get what you want me to do," Kaori shook her head and turned to Megumi. "Do you, Megumi-san?"

"N-not a clue." She stammered in the uneasiness of the topic.

"It's easy…" Alice began. "4-8 weeks is a total of...let's say, 62 days."

"We know how to do the math, Nakiri-san." Kaori pointed out.

"If you keep yourself visible to Tsukasa-senpai at that time, and go beyond that, by the 100th day that you see him, he'll realize he's in love with you." She answered.

The room was silent. Ryo started to question the sanity of his mistress. A scientific formula for falling in love just seemed too bizarre to believe in. The odd thing about Alice's theories though...is that he knew they almost always come true.

"Why 100 days?" Kaori fidgeted with her fingers in thought.

Alice shrugged. "It's just a safe estimate. It could be shorter, it could be longer."

 _Longer,_ Kaori thought. She was in love with him, but she didn't want to wait forever for him to feel the same. _How long would it take?_

"But personally, Kaori-san, I would move on to another guy if my effort reaches more than 100 days." She pointed to herself. "A girl has to give herself more credit."

The last few words she said resonated in Kaori's head. She then looked back at the very first time she saw Tsukasa. She remembered how it felt. It had been more than a year since then, and try as she might to hide her emotions…she knew deep in her heart that it only became more intense as time passed by. Even more so when he graduated. It was a lot more difficult to see him and talk to him since he was rarely on campus. But whenever she helps out the Elite Ten, there were occassions that she would see him. And in those tiny moments, her heart just ached to be with him.

Kaori chuckled. "Your theory is insane, Nakiri-san."

Alice huffed and crossed her arms over her chest again. "I bet you that in 100 days, he'll fall in love with you."

"It's not really a bet if you don't offer anything in return…" Ryo pointed out.

"Very well, then," Alice smiled. "I'll wager Ryo-kun if it doesn't play out. He can be your assistant for 100 days after that."

"Alice-san, why would you bet Ryo-kun?" Megumi asked in disbelief.

She indignantly pointed at us. "Because I _know_ I'm right."

Something in Alice's confidence triggered Kaori to say yes. She wasn't sure if it was her desire to make her stop pushing the issue or maybe, just maybe, she was hoping that Alice's crazy theory would work.

"100 days, _ne_?" Kaori clarified.

Alice nodded her head.

She extended her hand, "Okay."

"Day 1 starts tomorrow. Brace yourself, Hideyuki-san." Alice warned.

As Kaori let go of her hand, there was a slight feeling of regret that creeped on her. "For what?" she asked.


	2. Day 1

_Thank you so much for being here! And thank you to Nanalee for leaving such a sweet review the last time. Here is Chapter 1. When you read it, try to go on YouTube or SoundCloud and listen to Chevy's "uwu". That was my inspiration for writing this chapter. Enjoy!_

 _P.S. I decided that I'll be updating this story every Thursday of the week after this chapter. So, hope you guys can stay tuned! :)_

* * *

 _Chapter 1 - Day 1_

The autumn leaves continued to fall. Red, yellow, and brown slowly showered the garden. Kaori gazed outside the classroom window, daydreaming, as she rested her chin on her palm. She couldn't help but sigh as she tried to layout a plan in her head. _How on earth am I going to make him fall in love with me?_ She thought. But she found her lips curving upwards into a small smile whenever she thought about the possibility of Alice's 99.9%. _I wonder what that's going to be like…_

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed that her Nutrition professor had momentarily stepped out of the room to attend to a knock on the classroom door. "Hideyuki, Kaori –" Yamamoto-Kyoju called, half in and out of the door. But alas, the brunette sat still. "Hideyuki-san," he called again.

A few students started to murmor at her lack of focus on the situation. But then, the silver-haired boy sitting behind her noticed that sometime in the middle of daydreaming, she had actually fallen asleep.

"Tch," he muttered before kicking her chair to wake her up.

Her eyes instantly shot open. "Hayama-kun!" she whispered angrily, giving him a sharp look.

He narrowed his green eyes at her and gestured his head towards the door.

"Hideyuki-san!" Yamamoto-kyoju called urgently this time.

" _H-hai_!" she stood up. Her cheeks turned pink as she looked around the room and noticed her classmates have been staring at her.

Yamamoto-kyoju looked displeased. "Please step outside for a while."

Her heart started thumping. She wondered if she was being sent out for falling asleep in class. Guilt suddenly overcame her emotions. " _H-hai_ ," she answered and took a glance at Hayama before she proceeded to leave the room.

" _Gomenasai_ , _gomenasai, gomenasai_!" she fervently apologized to her teacher before stepping out.

She sighed and started to slap herself awake.

" _Sumimasen_ , Hideyuki-san,"

Her neck snapped to the left as she heard that voice. "Tsukasa-kyoju…" she said in disbelief. Then it hit her, "Tsukasa-kyoju!" she greeted, bowing and placing her hands on the hemline of her skirt.

He took a step towards her. " _Gomenasai_ for suddenly taking up your time."

Kaori shook her head. "No, I'm sorry if I took too long to step out."

"I have to attend a briefing with the WGO and rush to the restaurant after this. So, I'm sorry I couldn't wait for class to end."

"Daijobudesu ka, Kyoju?*" she asked.

" _Eto_ …I have a favor to ask," he began, as he slipped his hands in his pockets. "I need Holy Basil."

"Holy Basil?" she clarified.

" _Hai,_ again, sorry to bother you in class, I was actually supposed to go to Shiomi-kyoju to ask her about it. _Demo*_ , Nakiri Alice-san told me to ask you instead."

 _Nakiri-san,_ she felt as if her heart had stopped. Just then, she flashbacked the conversation they had yesterday.

 _'_ _Brace yourself,' she told Kaori._

She didn't fully understand what she meant by that. But now, as she stood there in front of Eishi, she wondered if this was just a mere coincidence, or a clever play made by Alice to make her point. As she started thinking, Eishi continued to babble on about how Alice told her that she's part of the Shiomi RS, how he was getting stressed out because of the last minute need for the ingredient, how he lacked people to help him run errands.

By the time he finished talking, Kaori noticed that he was practically wilting away. " _Hai,_ of course, Tsukasa-kyoju. When do you need it?"

He shyly looked away. "I don't mean to rush you…but I was hoping to get it before the day ends. The Shiomi RS is the only place I know that carries it, and I really need it when the Nakiri International board members arrive tomorrow."

"How much do you need?" she asked, tugging the hemline of her uniform.

"20 grams should be fine."

Of course, she was more than happy to help him out. " _Demo_ , how will I give it to you?"

"Hmmm," he drummed his fingers to his lips in thought. "Is it too much to ask you to bring it to my restaurant after class?"

Kaori froze. _Go to his restaurant?_ She thought, as she felt the back of her neck break into a sweat. She mustered up all the breath in her petite body to say, "Sure, don't worry about it."

"Arigatou," Eishi smiled. " _Ja_ , I'll see you then."

She watched him walk away. Her heart felt like it had leaped out of her chest. Kaori placed her hands over her lips to contain her excitement. After a second of calming down, she clenched her fist and whispered to herself, "100 days, Eishi-senpai."

Maybe there was nothing to regret afterall.

Later in the day, the final school bell rang and Kaori burst out of the classroom. She tried to run as fast as her feet could, heading for the RS. Somewhere along the hallway and in the stream of students, Ryo and Alice stood by the sides and watched her run out the school. Alice squinted her eyes in delight, "Looks like they've already met."

"I've never seen her run so fast…" Ryo, stoic as always, commented. "She's normally so out of it." and he then began to recall all the times he would pass by her, strolling along the hallways.

On the school grounds, Kaori ran past Tadokoro and Yukihira who just got out of their last class as well. "Kaori-san!" Megumi yelled.

She stopped and tried to catch her breath. She looked back, "Megumi-san!"

" _Ano_ …why are you in such a rush?" Yukihira asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"M-Megumi-san…" Kaori heaved. "Tsukasa-senpai…" she continued, trying to catch her breath. "Holy basil…" she added after another breath. "Restaurant…"

"Eh?" her two friends were confused.

She tried to stabilize herself by placing a hand over her chest. "Tsukasa-senpai asked me to bring him Holy Basil to his restaurant."

"Ehhhhh?!" Megumi beamed, balling her fists in excitement.

"Tsukasa-senpai?" Yukuhira asked.

" _Hai_!"

Yukihira Soma stood there awkwardly as he watched the two girls holding hands and dancing around in excitement. _What's with them…_ he thought. Then he remembered about the meeting they had earlier in the day. It was a conversation between Erina and Eishi, but for some reason, he just happened to be there and they ended up talking. Later on, though uninvited, Ryo and Alice ended up in the meeting room too.

"Is this for the dinner tomorrow night?" he asked.

Kaori and Megumi stopped. "I think so," the brunette answered.

"Dinner?" Megumi asked.

"There's this dinner with the Elite Ten and the board members of Nakiri International tomorrow night."

" _Demo_ …how come I don't know about that?" said Megumi.

Yukihira awkwardly grinned. "Oops," he said, placing a hand at the back of his head. "I forgot to tell you about it, Tadokoro-san."

"Ehhhh?!"

As Megumi panicked and Yukihira cackled at his silliness, Kaori looked at the time on her wrist watch. " _Sumimasen_ ," she excused herself and continued running.

Finally at the garden of the RS, Kaori stood there, picking the best basil leaves as she hummed happily. She and Hayama had been tending to them together the past few months. The sweet smell of basil finally relaxed her heart. She checked the time, _4:00 PM._ Maybe she still had time to freshen up before seeing him.

Day One seemed to be going well. But for a moment, she wondered if this is how it will end – by just delivering the basil. Alice seemed to help her today, but how about the other days? _How will I keep seeing him outside of class?_ She wondered. That had been her difficulty for months now. She realized that its only now that she's forced to think of a solution because of the bet.

"You ought to stop falling asleep in class,"

Kaori looked up and saw Hayama walking towards her. "I wasn't asleep…I was just in deep thought." She quipped.

"And also the kitchen. I have to wipe your drool off the counter everyday." He commented.

Her smile quickly faded away into a scowl."I don't drool!"

"You do."

Kaori wanted to argue, but she decided to bite her tongue at the last minute. It wasn't that unlikely to happen. "Well…not _all the time_." She rolled her eyes.

"All the time." He confirmed.

"Tch," she clenched her fist in annoyance. She couldn't stay that way for too long though. There was no time to bicker with Hayama.

"This is for Tsukasa Eishi-senpai." She smiled at the end when she mentioned his name.

He quickly noticed the change in the tone of her voice. "Oh,"

"I'm assuming you're going to the dinner tomorrow?"

He nodded his head. "It's required."

"I think Eishi is going to need this for that."

Hayama picked up a watering can and started tending to the plants. Kaori, on the other hand, continued humming and picking the leaves once silence took over. This was the usual set up they had. At the time she spent in the RS, she noticed that Hayama wasn't really much of a talker. He just seemed to be focused on the daily chores. _He's a little bit boring,_ she thought, the first time she met him. Even she noticed that Kurokiba Ryo was a lot more amusing to observe. But there was one thing she loved about working with Hayama – he was always so considerate.

Kaori watched him win one _shokugeki_ after another in their first year. She realized, after barely making it to her second year, that she needed to work twice as hard to keep herself in the school. Her specialty was fusing medicinal herbs and spices. To keep up, she had to train in a place where she can always have access to them. That's when she decided to join the Shiomi Seminar.

Her daily routine consisted of spending the afternoon in the RS, helping out Shiomi Jun and Hayama with their research proposals. Later on, she would stay up all night studying and perfecting her technique. She knew that unlike Hayama, she wasn't born with talent; she had to develop it. The RS wasn't really her home, but it might as well be, with all the time she spent there. It was her home away from home, next to the Polar Star Dormitory, where she stayed on the weekends because of the weekly drinking party they always had in Marui's room.

She would often fall asleep on the kitchen counter when she studied. When she would wake up, a blanket was already wrapped around her. Her cheeks turned hot as she remembered. " _Arigatou,_ Hayama-kun."

"Hmm?" he turned to her.

"For last night. I _did_ fall asleep in the kitchen… _again_." She stared at those green eyes as she spoke.

Shiomi had always taken pride in Hayama's kindness. Kaori then thought of the times that girls would come by to ask Hayama to tutor them. He never seemed to decline. Although there was more flirting and gushing instead of actual talks about spices, Hayama remained patient with them.

She felt thankful that his warmth towards others was carried over to her as well. She also hoped that she would be able to return all those favors someday.

Kaori finally zipped the lid of the bag. "Okay, that should do it."

 _I can't wait,_ she thought, as she carefully held the bag. "I'll see you later, Hayama-kun." She said and after seeing him nod in agreement, she started skipping away.

The Uptown Area was very different from any other part of the school. Kaori had been here before, but she would always forget that standing in the middle of it made her feel like she was in a whole other world. It was a weekday afternoon, so it wasn't that busy. Still, a handful of customers go in and out of the restaurants and shops.

She made it to Tsukasa's restaurant, which was a perfect representation of the quaint restaurants in Montmarte, Paris. A lot of people had reactions to the way it looked, saying it was too small or traditional. Being the former first seat, they expected it to be grand. But Tsukasa Eishi was very vocal about how he loved the intimacy of it. As Kaori entered and looked at the red and white interiors, the brown rattan seats and bottle candle holders on the table, she immediately tried to piece together why he chose such a set-up. Say whatever you want about it, but she was convinced that he wanted it small because it's more stress-free than managing a huge restaurant.

" _Sumimasen_!" she called out. The restaurant was empty.

Tsukasa stepped out of the kitchen wearing his crisp, white, chef's uniform. "Hideyuki," he greeted. " _Arigatou_ ," he added, wiping his hands on a towel before taking the bag from her.

"Don't worry about it."

He noticed how she overwhelmingly looked at the restaurant. "Have you been here before?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet. _Demo_ …It's lovely."

"Thank you," he said, looking around as well. "Oh, but I've probably caused you some trouble coming all the way here…"

"No, no, don't worry about it." She waved her hands at him.

That was it. She already gave the basil. _What now?_ She thought. She fiddled with her fingers a little bit. There were a million things she wanted to say to him but she assumed that he didn't really have time to talk. " _Eto…_ I really hope it helps you out. Good luck," she finally spoke, preparing to leave.

"Kaori," he called.

Her heart skipped a beat when he mentioned her name. " _H-hai_?" she hesistantly replied, turning to him.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

* * *

 _I like writing with a few Japanese words in the dialogue because it makes me imagine them really saying it. Let me know if you're like that too! Hehe! The next chapter is going to be very fun and interesting with all of the characters. Hahahaha._

 _*daijobudesu ka – are you alright?"_


	3. Day 2

_I love the colourful relationship of the Shokugeki characters, so, you can just imagine how much fun this chapter was to write. I hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it._

 _Thank you to Nanalee for the sweet review in the last chapter._

 _P.S. I didn't intend for Kaori's name to mean "fragrance", I only found out about it when Nanalee pointed it out. Haha._

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2 – Day 2**_

"What's wrong, Tadokoro-chan?" Isshiki Satoshi had noticed that his kouhai had been uneasy since he saw her this morning.

"Eto…it's nothing," she trailed off. "Kaori-san hasn't answered any of my messages."

"Did something happen?" the emerald eyed senior asked.

Megumi shook her head. "It's just unlike her."

It had been exactly a day since Tadokoro heard from her friend. The last time they saw each other, Kaori had been jumping around in excitement over seeing Tsukasa Eishi. She expected her to call and spill all the details of what had happened. But oddly enough, not call or even text was received.

The Elite Ten were inside the Nakiri stretch limousine. "Oi, Nakiri-san!" Yukihira called from the far end of the vehicle.

Alice and Erina turned their heads. "Oh, that's right, there's two Nakiris!" he cackled.

"You're so childish!" Erina retorted.

"Thank you for taking us in this fancy limousine all the way to Tsukasa-senpai's restaurant!" the red haired boy beamed to her. "It would have been an awfully long walk, so, thank you!"

Erina balled her fists in annoyance. "I DIDN'T INVITE YOU!"

Alice placed her hand on her lips, stiffling a laugh. "It really was my idea…"

"I could have just taken another car!" Erina scoffed.

"But that wouldn't really show Nakiri International that we are all united, _ne_?" Alice continued to annoy her cousin.

As the two bickered, Hisako just awkwardly watched them. On ther other hand, Ryo and Hayama sat across each other in silence. Isshiki just smiled in amusement. Takumi broke into a sweat over the noise, and Megumi continued to fidget with her phone.

" _Demo_ …why aren't the other senpais with us?" Yukihira pointed out, referring to Terunogi Kuga, Etsuya Eizan, and Kinokuni Nene.

"Kuga-san explicitly told me he wouldn't come," Erina rubbed her temples as she said this. It seemed that just the thought of being incomplete gave her a migraine. "Etsuya-san is nowhere to be found."

"Kinokuni is already there." Isshiki interjected.

In that instance, all eyes were on him with a knowing stare. "Oh, is she, Isshiki-senpai?" Alice teased.

After the Regiment de Cuisine, there were a lot of rumours about Isshiki and Nene dating. Isshiki, mysterious as always, never came clean about it though. But there were times that Yukihira would see him sneaking into the dormitory in the wee hours of the morning. Tadokoro had a feeling as well, but chose to keep mum about it. She wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence, but after the rumours started popping up, she noticed that Isshiki's nightly calls through the tube became less frequent. Sure, she can finally sleep in peace, but she had a feeling that maybe that's what he had been preoccupied with.

Isshiki took nothing of it, and lightly chuckled, "That's what she asked me to tell Erina."

"And when did she tell you that?" Alice playfully tried to pry.

He took out his cellphone. "Just now."

"And why did she text _you_ and not Erina?"

"Perhaps she doesn't have Erina's number."

"And _why_ doesn't she have –" Ryo wrapped his red bandana over his mistresses' mouth. Alice was definitely a sharp one when it came to all the gossip, but she was incredibly blunt when it came to tension. He, on the other hand, had already looked at Isshiki's face and noticed that he was sending out signals for Alice to stop.

" _Mou,_ Ryo-kun!" she struggled and started slapping his shoulder.

"Hayama-kun," Tadokoro softly called.

"Mmh?" Hayama replied, keeping his arms crossed over his chest.

"Have you seen Kaori-chan?" she asked. " _Demo_ …I haven't heard from her since she told me she'd see Tsukasa-senpai –"

"She got back in the morning and left the seminar again not too long after that." He nonchalanty answered.

" _Ano_ …Just this morning?" Yukihira clarified.

"Ehhhh?!" panic was building up in Megumi's voice.

"She came from Tsukasa-senpai's?" Takumi questioned.

Just then, the limo was silent. Alice once again, placed a hand on her lips and spoke, "Oh my,"

"Ehhh?!" the ideas that were running through Megumi's head made her pale. "D-Did she spend the night with –"

"Oh my, my, my," Alice started to chuckle. "This went on faster than expected, _ne_ , Ryo-kun?"

"What went what?!" Takumi demanded an explanation.

Erina was stunned at the implications in Alice's voice. "You don't know for sure, Alice." She said, and immediately noticed Hisako, texting on fire beside her. "Hisako…what are you doing?"

Her assistant looked up. "….texting Ryoko, Ikumi, and Yuki." She shamefully admitted.

"Now, now, it's not good to make assumptions." Isshiki noted.

Alice pouted. "But high school gossip is part of youth, Isshiki-senpai!"

The car finally stopped. "I guess we're here." Erina said.

It was a Saturday, and it was the busiest day for the Uptown Area. The hustle and bustle of the place reminded everyone of last year's Moon Banquet Festival. Students and likewise, outsiders went in and out of restaurants and shops. But as the limousine pulled up to the curb, people stopped and talked.

 _It's the Elite Ten!_

 _It's the Nakiri limousine!_

 _I wonder what they're doing here…_

Erina was the first to step out and the crowd just kept buzzing. As each member stepped out of the car, the chauffer began escorting them to the restaurant. "It's not like I thought it would be," Takumi commented, taking in the quaint establishment.

"Eh? It's your first time here?" Yukihira looked over to his friend.

"What?!" The blonde said in shock. "You guys have been here before?!"

Everyone seemed to break a sweat. " _Ano_ …lots of times," Ryo finally answered.

Before Takumi could make any more violent reactions, a server greeted them and welcomed them inside.

The restaurant was cozy and pleasant. Candles were lit, the smell of essential oils in the air, and soft french music played as they entered. Kinokuni Nene was already settled in one of the long tables. "Oh, Kinokuni-senpai!" Yukihira greeted.

She simply looked up from her phone and pushed up the rim of her thin, round glasses. "Mhm." She ackowleged their arrival.

Yukihira just casually made his way to a seat whereas the others stopped and froze in a corner. " _Ano_ …what are you guys waiting for?"

Truthfully, everyone stood still and waited to see how Isshiki would react upon seeing Nene. This was the first time they all saw them together since the rumours had broken out. Would they greet each other? Would he sit beside her? Would they kiss? Hug?

"You're an idiot, Yukihira." Takumi commented at his friend's lack of sensitivity.

Before anyone could settle down, the two representatives from the Nakiri International Board had arrived. Nakiri Sanzaemon and Dojima Gin were also there as representatives of Totsuki. After the greetings and pleasantries were made, it was announced that dinner would be served soon.

"They're sitting beside each other…" Alice whispered to Ryo, referring to Isshiki and Nene.

"Miss Alice, I think they can hear you…" Ryo commented, as he gestured his head to Isshiki, who was smiling at her.

" _Ojii-san,_ it's nice to see you again." Erina greeted her grandfather.

"Likewise, Erina." He acknowleged.

"We're here to discuss the logistics of the Promotion Exams for the first years. This year, we're planning to have it in Osaka."

"We can talk more about the heavy details after dinner, Erina. For now, I just want to know how everyone has been." Sanzaemon replied.

"Oh," she was a little taken aback by her grandfather's casualness.

"And enjoy Tsukasa Eishi's cooking." The female representative of Nakiri International commented.

As the wine was poured and the conversations started, the glass window that would reflect the kitchen started to illuminate. They had almost forgotten that Tsukasa's cooking style also included an exhibition of him preparing the dish.

"It's like watching a cooking show." Takumi commented as the white-haired chef appeared from the other side of the glass.

Megumi nodded. "Mhm, it was exactly like this the first time I tasted Tsukasa-senpai's cooking. When you're watching him from the outside, it really seems like he has his own little world."

" _Demo_ …I don't think that's the case now." Yukihira commented, his eyes wide at the sight before him.

It was then that Megumi's jaw dropped. The brunette that they had been looking for since last night walked up to one station behind Eishi and started pureeing ingredients. "K-Kaori-chan," Megumi stammered.

"Oh wow," Alice commented. She too was in a slight shock. But then, that expression slightly faded away as her lips curved into a smirk. "So, this is where she's been hiding."

Dinner was like a circus, with Erina and Yukihira constantly bickering. Hisako, struggling to be the mediator of the two. Alice continued making side comments on Isshiki and Nene. Takumi still vocalized how bad he felt about not being invited to a lot of events. Megumi breaking a sweat at everyone's reactions. Hayama and Ryo throwing shade at each other.

"This year's Elite Ten is definitely interesting," Sanzaemon commented with glee.

At the final stretch of the 9-course meal, Tsukasa finally stepped out of the kitchen and greeted his guests. " _Konbanwa_ ," he greeted everyone at the table with a smile.

"Tsukasa-san, as always, your cooking is marvelous." The male Nakiri International representative spoke.

"Arigatou, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. _Demo_ …" he started. "If the music is too loud, or the place is too warm, or if the chairs are too uncomfortable, if the –"

"Senpai, everything looks splendid." Kaori assured, following up behind him. She had begun to notice that Eishi started going pale again. " _Konbanwa, minna-san."_ She then greeted everyone at the table.

"Kaori-chan, I had no idea you were Tsukasa-senpai's sous chef." Isshki spoke.

She shrugged. "Just for tonight."

"It's nice to see you becoming comfortable working with others, Tsukasa-san." Sanzaemon commented.

Eishi nodded. "Slowly but surely."

"I just did prep work. _Demo_ , its good training for me."

"Well then, its been a lovely dinner," the former headmaster stood up. "Erina, we'll be coordinating again very soon." He looked at his granddaughter.

She nodded her head. "Of course,"

As the VIPs started to leave, Hisako immediately called the chaffeur to pull up to the curb. Without a second to waste, Megumi burst out, "Kaori-chan! We've been looking all over for you."

Kaori scratched the back of her neck and embarrassingly replied, " _Gomenasai,_ I've just been busy."

"Oh, we can see that." Alice chimed in suggestively.

"How?" Megumi quipped, staring at her and then throwing a secretive gesture towards Tsukasa.

" _Eto_ …it's a long story…" Kaori began. "But it all started when he asked me to have dinner last night."

"Dinner?!" Alice, Megumi, Hisako, and even Erina reacted.

The boys turned their heads to them in surprise. Kaori sighed as she pulled off her hairtie and let her hair loose from a bun. "Maybe we can talk about this somewhere else?" she whispered, feeling embarrassed. "Somewhere where _he_ isn't there?"

A bulb lit up in Alice's head. With a pound of her fist and a glint in her eye, she declared, "Hisako, call everyone. There's only one thing normal high school girls do at this kind of situation!" She then turned to the girls, " _Minna_ , we're having a sleepover!"

"You can't just order her around!" Erina objected.

"Why? You do it all the time." Alice cocked an eyebrow at her.

"She's my assistant!"

She narrowed her red eyes at her cousin and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, you _don't_ want to be invited to the sleepover?"

Erina froze. Try as she might to deny it, but after their first year, she had grown to like being with everyone in that group. Over time, the Polar Star Dormitory Circle weren't just limited to the ones residing in it. She then glanced at Hisako, who pursed her lips and looked at the floor. She knew her assistant wanted to be a part of that sleepover. And secretly, she did too.

She sighed. "Call everyone, Hisako."

* * *

 _Isshiki x Nene? Are you guys a fan of this pairing? Let me know!_

 _"konbanwa" - good evening_

 _"minnasan/minna" - everyone_


	4. Love and Secrets

**_Chapter 3 – Love and secrets_**

"So, Kaori-cchi," Yuki started. "Tell us what happened."

" _Demo_ …" Kaori replied, sweat dropping at the sides of her forehead. "Do the boys really have to be here too?" she whispered that last bit.

"That's right!" Marui beamed. "The girls can have their own little sleepover in their room and we can all just take a rest."

"Not a chance!" Daigo and Shoji chimed in chorus as they secured Marui in a headlock.

" _Mou_ , I didn't really expect the boys to be here too... _demo_ , I guess it can't be helped." Alice casually shrugged her shoulders.

It was the usual Saturday night at the Polar Star Dormitory. Isshiki had cooked one of his special dishes for his juniors. Ibusaki, the prince of smoke, made his special smoked salmon. Ikumi, the meat general, on the other hand, brought some Wagyu. Ryoko, queen of fermentation, brought out six bottles of her special rice juice since the group was a lot bigger than usual. With the amount of food available, it was as if no feast had happened in Tsukasa's restaurant earlier.

"This is so annoying…" Erina crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oi, Nakiri, don't be such a killjoy." Yukihira spoke as he chewed on a dried salmon strip. "Have a salmon strip." He offered, shoving it in her face.

"I don't eat that." She scowled.

"It's amazing how all of us can fit here…" Hisako commented, as she scanned how incredibly exact they fit in Marui's room.

"Marui has the biggest room because of his library." Shoji pointed out.

Megumi suddenly gasped. It was loud enough for everyone to stop and look at her. "Did anyone tell Takumi-san that we were having a party?!" she panicked.

Everyone looked at each other in awkward silence. "You guys were with him earlier!" Ikumi pointed out.

" _Ano_ …I guess we forgot to tell him." Yukihira answered.

"You're all terrible people." Yuki commented.

Cups of rice juice were passed down. Food was shared. Conversations and threats of a _shokugeki_ were thrown around. As compared to the other weeks that they had a party, this was definitely one of the rowdiest ones they've had.

"I can kick your sorry ass in a shokugeki anytime." Ryo snarled at Hayama.

"Tch," Hayama reacted. "Then why am I still the fourth seat, and you're fifth?"

Ryo started wearing his bandana. "Let's go, asshole!"

Alice whistled. "Stop it! _Mou_ , Ryo-kun, you're supposed to have a shokugeki with me first!"

"Hayama-kun, it's nice to have you here with us." said Isshiki.

"I didn't really have a choice…Jun kicked me out." He simply replied.

"Kicked you out?" Daigo asked.

"She told me to go with Kaori."

Hayama recalled how extra motherly Jun had been the moment Kaori joined the seminar. It was like Kaori became her benchmark for Hayama's social interaction. _Go make friends like Kaori, join Kaori's parties too, why can't you be as friendly as Kaori?_ It annoyed him, but not wanting to put up a fight, he decided to just go with it.

Yukihira shoved a cup of rice juice to his face. "Lighten up, Hayama."

"That's right!" Isshiki beamed as he magically discarded all items of clothings, except for an orange apron. "Everyone…let's drink up and celebrate our youth!"

"Kampaiiiii!" everyone cheered.

A few cups later and the rice juice began taking over everyone's system. "Kaori-cchi, come onnnn, tell us what happened to you and Tsukasa-senpai." Yuki begged.

"That's right! Spill all the _dirty_ details." Alice demanded.

Kaori smiled awkwardly. "N-nothing like that." She stammered, as her cheeks were flushed pink. "So, he invited me for dinner."

"How did that start?" Ryoko and Ikumi asked.

Megumi gave them a brief rundown of the history of the events up until the point that Kaori was supposed to continue.

"So, did Alice-san really plan for him to ask you about Holy Basil?" Ikumi asked.

"I do anything I can to help people." Alice grinned.

" _Ano_ …so he felt bad about putting me through the trouble, so, he asked me if I wanted to have dinner." She began. "I didn't really expect much. I thought he would just have someone serve the food and leave me alone. _Demo,_ he sat down with me and ate a little too."

"Ehhh?" Yuki and Megumi reacted, as their eyes glazed over in a dreamy like state.

Kaori nodded her head. "And then we –"

"Kissed?!" Alice interjected.

"Alice, let her finish the story, please." Erina was getting impatient. She was actually very curious about what happened as well. When Kaori began telling her story, she vividly remembered the romance manga that she was obsessed with at the moment, ' _Onegai, Love!'_

The brunette stuck out her tongue. "I wish. _Demo,_ we just talked."

"Talked?" Ryoko questioned.

"Yes, talked."

"About what?" Megumi was slowly crawling closer to her friend in anticipation.

"About his restaurant, cooking, herbs, spices, and stuff I like." Kaori casually replied.

"Stuff you like?" Hisako finally spoke.

"Well, he asked me about my hobbies and what I do after school."

"Sounds like a date already." Ikumi suggested.

She sighed. "I don't know… _demo,_ he also mentioned Rindou-senpai."

"Rindou-senpai?!" Erina questioned seriously. She then noticed that all eyes were on her as she reacted. " _Nani?!"_

"You just seem so into the story." Alice chuckled.

"Shut up, Alice." Erina glowered.

Kaori adjusted her sitting position by crossing her legs and resting her chin on her palm. She closed her eyes and sighed, "He mentioned that before Rindou-senpai left, they fought about him not being 'confident' enough for her."

Silence filled the room. The girls then realized that the boys sat back and listened the whole time as well.

"That's got to hurt…" Ikumi broke the silence.

"I was surprised he told me about it…" Kaori trailed off. "To be honest, I think that he just shared it to me by mistake."

"Mistake?" Yukihira asked.

"I feel like he got carried away by the conversation, because right after he told me about Rindou-senpai, he immediately panicked and asked to change the topic."

" _Demo_ , Kaori-chan, what time did you get back to the seminar?" Megumi asked.

She pushed her tongue onto her cheek in thought. "About 5' o clock in the morning, _ne_ , Hayama-kun?"

"Yeah," The silver-haired boy in the corner answered.

"Ehhh?! You spent the night with him?" Ikumi and Megumi were both in shock.

Kaori pursed her lips for a second. "Not really? Well, I blabbered on about the full potential of Holy Basil, then joked about being his sous chef. To my surprise, he agreed."

"Oh," they all mouthed.

She suddenly turned pale. "I stayed up all night alone in his kitchen studying how to do the 9-course meal. I hope it was worth it."

"It was." Megumi assured, recalling how tasty the food was earlier.

Alice pouted. "Eh? What a pity. I thought at least you would have spent the entire night together."

Kaori yawned. "No, we didn't. It was just me with the pots and pans."

"You should've called us." Yuki suggested.

The brunette poured herself another cup of rice juice. "Don't worry about it. It's all over now. Day 2 was pretty eventful, _ne,_ Alice-san?"

"Is your 100-day theory even real?" Ikumi turned to the mischievous Nakiri.

There was a glimmer in Alice's eyes. "Why? Did you want to try it too, Ikumi?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Ikumi's face turned beet red just before she took a quick glance at Yukihira. "W-what are you talking about?! Whom would I even try it with?!"

Alice released an evil chuckle, which made all the girls feel nervous. She was the type to know everyone's secrets and blackmail them with it. She always had a knowing look everytime people talked about relationships.

" _Minna-san_ ," Isshiki-senpai stood up with a cup of rice juice in hand. "Let's all congratulate Hideyuki-chan for her success in today's 9-course meal with the former first seat."

"I just prepped, Isshiki-senpai..." Kaori felt a little embarrassed about the praises, but maybe everyone was just finding a reason to drink more and be merry. The cups clinked and the residents of the Polar Star Dormitory celebrated the night away.

* * *

Kaori stirred and opened her eyes. Marui's room was awfully dark. She lifted her head and was greeted by a stunning headache. She looked around the room and her lips rounded into a silent 'wow' at the scene.

Marui was knocked out on the floor beside Daigo and Shoji. Erina, Hisato, and Alice were all crouched on the bed. She was absolutely sure that they would have backaches when they wake up. Ryo was propped in a dark corner. _Literally brooding in the corner,_ she thought. Megumi, Yuki and Ryoko were asleep in different areas of the room. Hayama was sleeping against a bookcase. Ikumi was next to Ibusaki. Yukihira took up the most space as he was fully stretched, asleep in the middle of the floor.

She then slowly crawled her way towards the silver-haired boy and knelt in front of him as she shook him gently. Hayama slowly awoke and squinted his eyes at her. "Hayama-kun," she whispered. "Let's go back to the seminar."

It was 3:47 in the morning. As much as she wanted to be there when everybody woke up, she just couldn't wait to stretch her legs and drink some water. Maybe take a pill for that headache she had.

He nodded and stood up. It was like a game of _the floor is lava_ as they both crossed over each person sleeping. They managed to leave the room and the dorm in silence.

"Eh…" Kaori rubbed her temples. "My head hurts so bad."

"You didn't really drink a lot." He said, running his fingers through his loose, white hair.

"Really? I thought I did…" she trailed off, placing a finger on her lip in thought. "Maybe I'm just exhausted."

They walked together in silence. Hayama's hands were in his pockets, and Kaori's arms crossed over her chest as she shivered in the coolness of the air. It was the middle of autumn, afterall. She made the mistake of wearing a thin sweater.

Without saying anything, Hayama immediately undressed his jacket and swiftly slipped it on her shoulders. She smiled as she felt the thick, comforting fabric of his clothing fall on her skin. The smell of cinnamon was strong yet comforting.

"Arigatou," she said. As she kept her hands warm in the wool pockets, she couldn't help but feel guilty and helpless that she relied on him most of the time. She was well aware that he already gets enough of that from Jun.

"You didn't have to though," she began, following close behind him. "I think Shiomi-kyoju will kill me if you get sick."

"I think she'll kill me first if _you_ get sick." He nonchalantly replied.

Kaori stopped as she heard the sound of footsteps that weren't their own. Chills started to creep up her spine. "Hayama…" she called.

"What is it now?"

"Did you hear that?" she asked. Kaori froze and started listening intently. A minute later, she started walking close to a few trees and was able to distinguish voices. Hayama walked back and stood behind her.

"What?" he released an exasperated sigh.

"Shh!" she shushed and walked closer to the noise. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. As they got closer and closer, the more distinct the voices became.

"It's a little annoying how everyone is talking about it." a girl said. Her voice sounded a little cold and indifferent. It was quiet familiar to Kaori, but she just couldn't put a name on it...until the boy replied.

"I guess it's my fault for what happened during the Regiment De Cuisine."

 _Isshiki-senpai?!_ She thought. Then she realized that he was the only person missing in the room when she woke up.

Kaori furrowed her brows, trying to understand why he was out with a girl at this ungodly hour. In her curiosity, she took a few more steps forward, dragging Hayama with her, until he stood his ground and pulled her back to him.

The silent thump of her chest against his made her squeak. "Don't." he warned, shaking his head disapprovingly as he held her.

She looked up and frowned. "But!" she mouthed as silent as she could.

"No." he mouthed as well.

"What's wrong with people finding out?" Isshiki asked the girl.

"I just don't want all the talk about it."

It took a while for Isshiki to reply. But when he did, he said, "How come, Nene?"

Kaori's eyes widened, and as her muscles tensed up, Hayama immediately placed a finger on top of her lips to shush her. She looked at him defeatedly, as he shook his head. "No, let's go." he mouthed again. But Kaori couldn't move. She could definitely hear her mother's voice saying _, 'it's not good to eavesdrop'_ , but somehow, she couldn't stop herself from listening.

"I just don't like...the teasing. Like what happened at dinner today, with Nakiri Alice-san." The girl answered.

Footsteps were heard. "Come here," he said softly.

Kaori and Hayama then heard the sound of a soft kiss.

"Whatever you want...but I'll have you know, it's already killing me to keep this a secret."

"Can't keep up?" Nene teased. "I'll see you again tomorrow." She added and after a few minutes, the sound of footsteps faded away.

She just couldn't believe what she heard. Sure, everyone pretty much knew that it was highly possible that Isshiki and Nene were going to end up together. If anyone had a 99.9% chance of falling in love with each other, it would be those two. Kaori felt overwhelmed that she was able to finally confirm all the rumours and theories about the hottest gossip in Totsuki.

" _Ano.._.I'm going to let go now." Hayama said in hushed tones, reminding Kaori that they were still holding on to each other.

"I guess you know now." Isshiki suddenly popped up from behind, smiling at them.

"Isshiki-senpai!" Kaori exclaimed as she jumped off Hayama in shock.

"What are you two doing out at this time?" the senior casually asked.

"Shouldn't we be asking you the same, _ne,_ Hayama-kun?" she elbowed her companion.

He completely ignored her question, saying, "We're on our way back to the seminar."

" _Ja,_ I'll be heading back now too. I'll see you guys again soon." Isshiki just brushed it off, as he started waving and walking away from them.

Kaori stood there feeling puzzled by everything that just happened. At one point, she began to question if she really was awake. A part of it felt like it all happened so fast that she might have been dreaming. Just the same, she quickly pinched her arm to make sure that she was indeed awake.

As she watched Isshiki walk away, she felt that what she saw tonight was something she had to keep quiet about. _It's going to be hard not to tell Tadokoro-chan,_ she thought. As the two girls always told each other their secrets. Isshiki didn't even ask them to hush about it. Kaori theorized in her head that maybe her senpai trusted her enough to do what's right. Guilt suddenly overcame her.

She snapped out of her thoughts and called out to the senior, "Isshiki-senpai!"

" _Nani_ , Hideyuki-chan?" he was still all smiles.

Then she gestured zipping her lips, locking it, and throwing away the key. Isshiki chuckled softly in amusement. "Arigatou," he said and he was gone.

She sighed and looked at her companion, who was gazing back at her. She then smiled at him and pulled his jacket closer to her body. "Well, that was unexpected yet expected at the same time."

"Let's go." He said, waiting for her to walk with him.

On the way back to the seminar, Kaori realized that this was the first time she ever shared something intimate with Hayama. In a way, it felt special.

"Hey, Hayama-kun," she started.

"Mhm?"

"It's cute that we're both keeping a secret, _ne_?"

He sighed at her silliness.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading this chapter! I know I said that I would post only every Thursday, but I couldn't help myself from posting this today. I hope you guys can let me know what you think about this so far in the reviews. :) 'til next time!**


	5. Constant Conversations

**_Chapter 4 – Day 6: Constant Conversations_**

It had been three days, and Kaori was in a slump. Alice explicitly said that she had to show up every single day of the 100 days. And yet, here she was, three days short of fulfilling that. Except for the class she had with Tsukasa Eishi today, she had no way of seeing him the past few days.

How do you tell your crush that you need to see him everyday? It was unnatural to just show up in his restaurant for no reason. Calling him was out of the question as well...because again, there's no reason to. Kaori racked her brain to think of a plan, and in effect, she kept scratching her ear in frustration. She thought about being bold, to just let it out with an, "I want to date you, Tsukasa-senpai", but that would be too much. It might end up with an awful backfire on the tiny progress that she has made so far.

"Kaori-chan, your ear is already red!" Megumi was in shock.

She snapped out of her exasperated thoughts and clasped her hands together. "Ah, _sumimasen,_ "

As she looked down on her hands, she decided that she was already defeated. _Kami-sama,_ she exclaimed in her thoughts. _Please, please, please give me a good reason._

Tsukasa came into the room. "Konnichiwa."

"Konnichiwa, Tsukasa-kyoju." the class greeted.

She couldn't help but glance at Ryo and Alice before giving her full attention to the class. Alice was the one who made the first two days possible. Was it too much to ask her to play matchmaker again? Hell, was it too much if she asked her to play it for 100 days straight?

The class went on with the task of completing a 9-course meal. It had been very beneficial for Kaori, since she already completed such a task with Eishi over the weekend. She had more or less gotten a feel of what it was like to work on a huge French menu in such a short amount of time. And for the first time, she and Tadokoro Megumi were the first ones to finish the class.

 _I'm an idiot, why did we finish first? Then that means I have to leave the class right away._ Kaori thought as she presented the dish.

"Pass" Eishi simply said.

It was as if Kaori's legs were cemented to the floor. She had to give way to the next students, but she just couldn't move. At least not until she would figure out a reason. " _A-ano_ , Tsukasa-kyoju..." she stuttered.

" _Nani,_ Hideyuki-san?" His eyes widened with concern.

She opened her mouth and realized that no words came out. Probably it was time to declare defeat. "Nothing, kyoju. _Arigatou_."

As the afternoon came rolling in that day, Kaori became more and more desperate. It was going to be another day wasted if she couldn't think of something. "Tadokoro-chan, I'm dying." she cried.

" _Doushite*_?" the blue haired girl answered as they walked out of the school.

"It's almost the end of the day, and this is going to be the 4th day without any contact with Eishi-senpai."

Megumi sighed. " _Gambatte,_ Kaori-chan. You'll think of something."

* * *

Even in the Shiomi seminar, she seemed a little bit out of it. At one point, Hayama found her holding a watering can to the plants, but there was nothing coming out. Even in the kitchen, she had been over grinding a few spices. It took a "Kaori-san, are you alright?" from Shiomi Jun over dinner to let her finally snap out of it.

As Kaori stood in front of the bathroom mirror and brushed her teeth, she stared at her reflection and decided it was probably time to come clean. She pointed her toothbrush at the mirror, and with a mouthful of foam, she declared, "Tsukasa-senpai, I like you."

She shook her head at her silliness. But a second later, she started doing it again. "Tsukasa-senpai, will you go out with me?"

Pacing back and forth while brushing her teeth, she stopped to say, "Tsukasa-senpai, can I please be your girlfriend?"

Even as she gargled, she made a sound, "Tsukasa-senpai, please like meeee."

"Tsukasa-senpai, can we -"

"What the hell are you doing?" Hayama appeared in front of the bathroom door, hands crossed over his chest.

Kaori's face turned a beet red. "N-nothing. Just talking to myself."

His lips curved into a small smirk, which she quickly noticed. "Ehh, don't make fun of me!" Kaori whined. "What do you want?"

"Jun just wanted me to check up on you. You were so distracted over dinner."

"I'm fine…" she replied. But he gave her a long, hard look in return. "Really, I'm fine."

"Seems like you're losing it," he commented.

"Just a tiny bit." she awkwardly smiled. " _Demo_ , I'm fine."

"If you say so," he said before turning to walk away.

An idea struck her at the last minute. "Hayama-kun," she called out. He turned to her with a stoic look on his face. She paused for a second in hesitation before finally speaking, "What would you do if a girl tells you she likes you?"

He furrowed his brows at the question. " _Nani_?"

"What would you do if a girl tells you she likes you?" she repeated.

Kaori realized, _who better to consult with, than a guy?_ If she really was going to confess this early on, she had to know how guys think in order to prepare herself for the possible backlash.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I just nod politely."

Kaori shook her head. "No, no, no, this isn't like the girls who come here asking you to tutor them." She took a step towards him. "I'm talking about a girl who would really walk up to you, pull you into a private moment, like, _really_ confess."

"That hasn't happened." he admitted.

"Okay, well, what if it does?" she began painting a scenario as she took measures to close the distance between them. "What if...it was actually just the two of you. No one was around. And she stops to look into your eyes and says..." she paused and pursed her lips before looking up to him and saying, "Akira-kun, I like you. I really like you."

Hayama wasn't expecting for a thump in his chest. _Doushite?_ he asked himself as he gazed into her chocolate brown eyes.

"Hayama-kun?" she began to shrink when he made no reactions.

He finally moved and reached out to touch her face. His thumb gently wiped the corner of her mouth as he said, "Kaori,"

"H-hai?" she didn't expect to stutter. _What's happening?_ she thought as she felt the warmth of his fingertips on her skin.

"Make sure you don't have toothpaste when you confess…" he said, his expression changing. "otherwise, you'll look like an idiot."

Her eyes narrowed like slits at him as she slapped his hand away. "You're so mean!"

"Tch," he muttered under his breath as he looked at her with amusement.

With that, Kaori realized that she probably wasn't going to get much help from him either. She probably had better luck with someone who actually has an experience in relationships. Maybe someone like Isshiki.

"Kaori-san!" Shiomi called. "There's someone here to see you!"

"At this time?" she asked, as she checked her wristwatch for the time. _7:30 PM._

As she made her way to the lab, she felt confident that it must be Tadokoro or Yuki that dropped by. But then, she became speechless upon seeing the boy whom she had been thinking about all day, standing in front of the jars of spices on the shelf.

"Tsukasa-senpai," she almost had to catch her own jaw as it dropped.

"Kaori-san," he greeted, then she noticed his eyes shifting. "Hayama," he added, nodding his head.

Hayama came out from behind Kaori and greeted back, "Tsukasa."

"What's up, Tsukasa-senpai?" Kaori asked. She carried such complicated emotions at the moment. She wasn't sure whether to feel shocked, happy, relieved, or scared. It was unexpected of him to be there. She began thinking about what he could have possibly wanted at that time.

" _Gomenasai_ , I've been trying to call you all night. _Demo,_ you don't seem to be answering my call." he explained.

"Oh, I haven't checked my phone much today." Kaori realized then just how much she was out of it.

Tsukasa seemed to be relieved. "Ah, _ja_ , shall we go for a walk?"

"A...walk?" she was even more confused, but then she noticed the senior looking sullen at the way she reacted. She immediately waved her hands at him, "No, no, I don't mean it negatively. Okay, let's go."

" _Sumimasen_ ," they both said their goodbyes to Shiomi and Hayama.

As they headed out the door, Hayama called her one last time. As she turned around, she immediately caught a green jacket that was tossed towards her. " _Demo_...this isn't mine." she told him. It was the same jacket that he had lent her the night they came from the Polar Star Dormitory.

"Doesn't matter, it's cold outside." he simply replied.

She smiled at him. "Arigatou."

As they took the first step outside, she realized how right Hayama was about the weather. Tsukasa, being a gentleman, stood behind her and assisted in putting on the jacket. "He seems to really care about you." he happily commented.

Kaori smoothed out the sleeves. "He cares deeply about the people in the Seminar."

A full moon was out that night. She remembered that she heard it once on TV that a full moon brings forth new beginnings. As she stared at the starless night sky, she only wished that even though there were no shooting stars, she could indeed wish for love in the 100 days. "So...why did you want to go for a walk?" she finally asked him.

"I liked the way you and I worked together the other night," he replied. "It was one of the rare moments that I actually got along with someone who isn't…" he then stopped and swallowed.

 _Rindou-senpai?_ she thought.

"...who isn't a senior." he completed. But Kaori knew better. That's not what he meant.

She decided to brush off how much it bothered her to hear or think about his ex-girlfriend. "No, thank you for the opportunity of making me your sous chef. I mean, I'm not in the Elite Ten or anything...I'm just a regular student here. Struggling, actually."

"That's exactly it, you see." he began. "I think...you can learn a lot from being my assistant. That is, of course, if you still want to."

" _Nani?_ " she was a little taken aback. "Me? _Demo_ , I'm not that well-versed with your style, Tsukasa-senpai."

"Eishi," he immediately said. "You can call me Eishi. I just think its perfect because you learn pretty fast, and you'll get a lot of training from being my assistant."

Her cheeks turned hot at what he said. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

She started playing with the hemline of the jacket. "I mean...I just don't see myself…"

"I see…" he sighed. Against the cold weather, Kaori began to sweat at seeing Eishi wither away by the rejection.

"Eishi-kun," she said, feeling butterflies as she used his first name. "It's not that I don't want to, I mean...I really do." Then it hit her. This was what she prayed for. This was the reason to see him everyday. This is how she was going to make him fall in love with her. There was no time for self-doubt. She knew she would probably be overwhelmed with the responsibility of being his right hand, but who was she to turn away from an answered prayer?

She pursed her lips and gazed into his eyes. "Are you sure I can help out?"

He smiled. "I wouldn't get a ride all the way here if I wasn't."

The beating of her heart easily doubled at what he said. She placed a hand on her chest and sighed, trying to calm herself down. She smiled back at him. "Did Nakiri Alice tell you to ask me this?"

"N-Nakiri Alice?" he was surprised. "No, and why would she?"

She shook her head. "Nothing...she just likes helping people."

He stopped in front of her. His icy purple eyes bore into her soul as he gazed at her. How could she resist this? More importantly, how could she resist him? "So…?" he asked her.

She nodded her head. "Okay, Eishi-kun." Oh, she just loved saying his name. And she was truly glad that she would be able to do it often.

He then released a deep sigh. "That's fantastic. I thought I would set myself up for rejection again."

 _I could never reject you,_ she thought, as she watched and listened to him talk about his upcoming plans. It was perfect. He was perfect. But amidst her excitement, there was a sinking feeling in her chest. It felt like a surge of self-doubt. Nonetheless, she quickly brushed it off and thought that maybe she was just nervous. "I'm excited!" she told him.

He smiled at her. "We'll start tomorrow."

Kaori returned to the seminar with a light feeling in her chest. She wanted to savor that delightful feeling for a while, because deep down, she knew the real work would start tomorrow. She went straight to one of the guest rooms, where she usually laid her stuff down. Grabbing a few books and her glasses, she decided it was time to start her nightly ritual.

Upon entering the kitchen, she was surprised to see Hayama there, still awake and tinkering with spices. "Tadaima," she greeted.

"Mhm," he acknowledged.

"Where's Shiomi-kyoju?"

"Probably in the other room, doing some prep work."

"I see…" she replied, as she placed herself on one of the counters. She pushed her glasses to her face and started opening books. They worked in silence for a while, until the smell of various spices finally distracted her. She looked up and watched her partner work.

Hayama was always calm, yet, incredibly intense every time he worked. As he grounded and sniffed the different spices, she couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at his concentration. Truthfully, she found the most excitement in watching him work in silence, rather than their conversations. He was incredibly passionate about his job, but rather dry when it came to socializing.

But then, Kaori's cheeks turned warm as she recalled his fingertips on her delicate skin earlier. She then touched her cheek, trying to remember the feeling. It was the first time that he had ever been so close to her. All this time that they've been friends and partners in the seminar, there was always this barrier between them. It was as if they tried to get comfortable but not too comfortable with each other...at least that's how she felt from her end.

"Oi," he clicked his tongue. "You're out of it again."

She turned to her books in embarrassment. "No, I'm fine."

As the minutes turned into hours, the two were still hard at work. Until Kaori was finally the first to give in. She stood up, and asked, "Hayama-kun, I'm gonna make some tea. Want some?"

He nodded his head. "Arigatou."

Minutes later, she set down two cups on the counter he worked on and poured the tea. She grabbed a chair and sat down across him. She sipped and let out a huge sigh.

"Did you tell him?" he suddenly asked.

She tilted her head in confusion. "Tell him?"

He kept his gaze on the bowl of spice that he was grinding. "That thing you were practicing in the bathroom earlier."

"Oh," she smiled, remembering her silly self professing feelings for Tsukasa Eishi in front of a bathroom mirror. "No, I didn't. I didn't think I needed to anymore...or at least, not yet."

She didn't get a reaction from him, so she decided to just tell him about what happened. "He asked me to be his assistant."

He stopped and threw a sharp look towards her.

" _Nani_?" she felt a little concerned at his reaction.

"Nothing…" he began. "That guy just seems to be always looking for an assistant."

She chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess so. He says he's got a lot of things on his plate. So, he needs someone to help him out so he can focus on developing his cooking."

"Yeah, but what about you?"

She was a little taken aback by the snarkiness in his voice. "What about me?"

He gestured to the books that were laid out in front of her. "Shouldn't you be concerned with your own cooking first?"

"I am."

Hayama sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think you should be his assistant."

"It's not exactly for you to decide, Hayama-kun." she replied. "Besides, I already said yes."

"You're putting a lot of priority on this stupid bet you have with Alice." he implied.

She squinted her eyes at him. Kaori took a breath and asked, "Why are you being so critical about this?"

"You barely made it on your first year." he reminded. "You're not exactly going to make it to our third with such a narrow mindset in this school."

He was right, she did barely survive. But she already made a choice and stubborn as she is, she was not going to let his pessimism ruin her glee. "Thanks for your concern, but I'll be just fine." she replied coldly as she looked down to her books, pretending to read.

He looked away. "It figures why you haven't participated in a shokugeki in...what, a year?"

She lifted her head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"An invitation for a shokugeki says a lot about a chef's talent."

"So, are you implying that I'm untalented?" her voice turned stern.

He frowned at her, but matched her intense gaze towards him. "I didn't choose such a word for an assumption. You did."

She opened her mouth to answer, but no words had come out. She felt like a fish out of water. Hayama then added, "But fine, while you're at it, you already know that you can't keep being this subpar chef."

"If I'm really subpar, why did someone like Eishi choose me to be his assistant?" her hands crossed over her chest.

"Do you now feel validated just because of that?"

She clenched her fist at his question. _Damnit,_ she thought. As she looked back at Hayama, she couldn't help but feel exposed. She tried her hardest to hide the fear that filled the pit of her stomach. She recalled all the times that her friends and classmates would get invitations to a _shokugeki_. But no one seemed to be interested in doing a battle with her. Was her cooking just not striking enough? Was she not worthy of being competition?

All year long that she watched her friends gone into competitions, there was an unnerving feeling inside her which she had tried to hide for so long. She felt like she was slowly fading into the background. She felt invisible. And now, having the great White Knight of the Table see something in her made her feel that she finally exists. Confused and frustrated, she simply turned her back to him and said, "I've had enough of this. I don't know why the hell you're suddenly acting like this. But I don't need your opinion. I don't need you in my space."

Hayama didn't pay any attention to her remark. He quickly grabbed his canisters and began walking out.

She realized that maybe her words were a little bit too strong. "Hayama -"

"There are only a handful of people who graduate from Totsuki." he quickly cut her off. "Not one of them made it by being in another person's shadow."

* * *

 _"Doushite" - why?_

 **Author's Note: Ooooh. The first Kaori x Hayama fight. What did you guys think? And boy, am I excited for some Kaori x Eishi :)**


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